If You're Not Following This Rule, You're Strength Training the Wrong Way

Celebrity and professional athlete trainer Todd Durkin has seen his share of workout-related injuries. "Your feet, ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders are easily injured through sport fitness or even life and compensatory patterning," the Cybex spokesperson recently told us at the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) conference. "Shoulder injuries are big with all of the push-ups, burpees, and bench presses people do." To prevent these types of setbacks — which can hinder weight-loss goals — Todd recommends his clients counter classic moves with back-strengthening moves in a 2:1 ratio.

"For every frontside exercise you do, you should do two backside exercises," Todd explains. "You are a strong as your weakest link and as efficient as your worst movement. So whatever's weak is eventually going to break, and if you're not efficient, you're not going to be great."

Whenever you do a move like a push-up or crunch, Todd recommends moves that strengthen your often-neglected back muscles like TRX rows, resistance band splitters (also called back squeezes), single-arm dumbbell row and twist, and other moves that open up your chest. The next time you hit the gym, try incorporating two sets of one of these back-strengthening exercises for every traditional move you do.